This invention relates to the field of hitches. More particularly, the invention is concerned with hitches attachable to a towing vehicle which are able to tilt a trailer for easier loading and unloading.
Trailers transport many different types of payloads. Some payloads, such as automobiles or construction equipment, roll on and off the loading end of the trailer. Other payloads are pulled onto a trailer such as boats or watercraft. To load a trailer attached to a towing vehicle requires a method of raising the payload to the height of the trailer platform. Usually long ramps are used to roll equipment or automobiles up the short height, but this requires hauling the bulky and cumbersome ramps with the trailer. Also, if the payload is an automobile, using ramps of insufficient length can cause the bottom of the automobile to be scraped by the trailer's rear edge. Further, it is time consuming to move and properly position the long ramps at the loading end of the trailer. Another problem is that ramps must be specially constructed to fit each different type of trailer, in many cases ramps cannot be interchanged between trailers.
One way to eliminate the problems associated with using longer ramps is elevating the hitching end of the trailer so as to allow equipment or a vehicle to roll up onto the trailer using shorter ramps. Unfortunately, most vehicles used for towing are equipped with ball-like hitches that are fixedly anchored to the vehicle. Thus, once the trailer is attached, there would be no easy way of tilting the trailer to allow smaller ramps to be used to facilitate loading and unloading of the payload.